Francesco Albani Bologna 1578 - 1660

Comte de la Guiche;
His deceased sale, Paris, March 4-7, 1771, lot 4;
Randon de Boisset sale, Remy-Julliot (C.P. Chariot), February 27, 1777, lot 5;
Poullain sale: Paris, Le Brun Julliot Fils (C.P. Langlier) March 15, 1780, lot 10;
Duc de Chabot sale, Paris, Paillet (C.P. Boileau), December 20, 1787, lot 6;
François Laborde-Méréville, Paris (where mentioned in a posthumous inventory of July 18, 1803, but not included in his deceased sale), from whose estate presumably acquired directly by; 
Lucien Bonaparte, Prince de Canino (see note above), Rome (not included in His deceased sale, Paris, January 13-16, 1840, where it is published in the catalogue's supplement, as no. 161, "Aucun des tableaux suivants n'a été mis en vente, vu le prix exorbitant qu'y attachait le propriétaire), thence by descent to his wife;
Alexandrine de Bleschamp, Sinigallia (where recorded in 1855 in her bedchamber);
with Galerie Charles and André Bailly, Paris, 1988;
Sale: Sotheby's, London, July 3, 1991, lot 61, where purchased by the present owner.

D.C. Bozzani, Inventario della Galleria Bonaparte, Rome June 13, 1804 (Archivio di Stato, Rome, Camarale II, Antichità e Belle Arti 7, fasc. 204);
G.A. Guattani, Galleria del Senatore Luciano Bonaparte, Rome 1808, vol. I, p. 83, no. 45;
Choix de gravures à l'eau-forte d'après les peintures originales... de la galerie de Lucien Bonaparte, London, 1812,  no 102, engraved by Banzo, no. 45;
L. Lassarini, Inventario e Parizia dei Quadri appartenenti alla fu principessa di Canino, October 13, 1855, (Paris, Archives Nationales, cote 103, AP 12, dossier 2);
M. V. Brugnoli, "Gli Affreschi dell'Albani e Del Comenichino del Palazzo di Bassano di Sutri," Bollettino d'Arte, XLII, 1957, pp. 266-77;
Luciano Bonaparte, le sue collezioni d'Arte, le sue residenze a Roma, nel Lazio, in Italia (1804-1840), M. Natoli, ed., Rome 1995, pp. 277, 297 and note 97, 333;
B. Edelein-Badie, La collection de tableaux de Lucien Bonaparte, prince de Canino, Paris, circa 1997, pp. 143-144, cat. no. 3
C.R. Pugliesi, Francesco Albani, 1999, pp. 111-112, cat. nos. 32.V.e, 32.LV.d. 

Francesco Albani, along with his fellow pupil Guido Reni, had learned the art of painting small, highly finished pictures on copper in the “Flemish style” while he was still in the studio of Denys Calvert in Bologna.¹ Such cabinet pictures, whether of sacred or profane subjects and whatever their support, were to remain a mainstay of Albani’s production, and assured his fame throughout Europe, not only during his own lifetime, but into the following centuries. 

This beautiful Holy Family is an excellent example of Albani’s work in this genre.  Indeed, the composition appears to have been a particular success; the artist produced a number of variations on the subject.  This painting is closest in composition to another copper in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (14 1/4 by 10 3/4 in., inv. 1983.250) which includes the figures of two adoring angels in near profile at the left, suggesting that the painting may have been conceived as a Flight into Egypt. The same two angels also appear in another version on copper in the collection of the Earl of Yarborough at Brocklesby Park, where the Madonna’s head is turned to the right towards Saint Joseph, who leans on a carved stone plinth and rests his head on his hand.² 

Stylistically the Holy Family would appear to date to Albani’s Roman sojourn, circa 1608-10.  By this time, the artist had become an independent figure; the death in 1609 of Annibale Carracci, for whom he had acted as a senior assistant on a number of projects from his arrival in the city, gave him greater prominence, and Albani had begun to receive a number of prestigious commissions as a result.  The influence of Domenichino, who was working in 1609 under Albani’s supervision on frescoes for the Palazzo Giustiniani, Bassano di Sutri (now Palazzo Odescalchi, Bassano Romano), is also perceptible in the present work, particularly in the physiognomy and direct gaze of the Madonna.   

Note on the Provenance:

While Albani’s cabinet pictures had a wide appeal, they seem to have been particularly popular in France; Louis XIV had more easel paintings by Albani than any other Bolognese artist, and other French collectors seemed—as always—to follow the royal lead³. Several of the other versions of the Holy Family have French provenances, and the present painting is no exception⁴.  It first appears in 1771 in the sale of the collection of the Comte de la Guiche where it is extensively described⁵. The painting passed through a number of important collections in the later part of the 18^th Century until it was eventually acquired by Lucien Bonaparte in 1803/4⁶.

Lucien was the youngest brother of Napoleon, whom he had angered with an “inopportune” marriage, as a result of which he moved himself, his family, and his large collection of art from Paris to Rome.  After a few months in Bassano di Sutri (in the same palace where Albani had painted, see above), he moved into the Palazzo Lancellotti ai Coronari in the heart of the city.  There, his collection was inventoried in June of 1804, under the direction of the sculptor Antonio Canova, then the Inspettore delle Antichità e Belle Arti.   Bonaparte had formed a superlative collection of paintings, including masterpieces by Velásquez, Greuze, Bronzino, Titian and David.  The Holy Family is listed as hanging in the “Salone Quinto” with 16 other paintings; works attributed to Titian and Michelangelo are mentioned, as well as identifiable paintings by Annibale Carracci (Three Marys at the Tomb, Hermitage; Diana and Acteon, Brussels) Raphael (Madonna of the Candelabra, Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore) and Luini (Mary Magdalene, then attributed to Leonardo, now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC).  Bonaparte moved to the Palazzo Nuñez (now Torlonia) in 1806, where he opened his gallery to the public and was sometimes seen to chat pleasantly with visitors. The picture was engraved by Antonio Banto in 1812 (see Literature) where it was mistakenly described as a work on canvas.  After Lucien’s death, the Holy Family was not included in his posthumous sale as the price placed on it was considered too high, but rather passed to his wife, who hung it in her bedroom⁷.

1 See C.C. Malvasia, Felsina Pittrice, ed G. Zanotti, Bologna, 1841, I, pp. 197, 200.  The reference is made to “rametto al Fiammingo”, that is literally little copper painting in the manner of “il Fiammingo,” i.e. Denys Calvaert, called Dionisio Fiamingo.

2  See C.R. Pugliesi, Francesco Albani , New Haven, 1999, p. 111, cat. no. 32, illus., plate 53

3  See C.R. Pugliesi, "Francesco Albani," in Dictionary of Art, New York, 1996, vol. I, p. 536

4  See C.R. Pugliesi, 1999 op. cit, pp. 111-112.

5  “La Sainte Vierge, vue de face, ayant l’enfant Jesus nu, assis sur elle & vu de profil; S. Joseph qui est assis à la droite du Tableau, tient un livre.  Ce morceau est très fin & d’un bon faire, il est peint sur cuivre.   Hauteur 12 pouces, largeur 9 pouces”. 

6  For Lucien Bonaparte’s activities as a collector, please see Edelein-Badie 1997 and Luciano Bonaparte, le sue collezioni… both cited in Literature. 

7 In the auction catalogue of 1840 (see Provenance) it is explained: “Aucun des tableaux suivans [sic] n’a été mis en vente, vu le prix exorbitant qu’y attachait le propriétaire. ”